The Runaways
by Cereal Adventurer
Summary: An alternate ending to season 3. Jenny and Chuck realize they have nothing left in NY and decide to leave town. Can they help each other overcome their problems, or will their destructive paths only pull each other down further? B/C/J.
1. Chapter 1

An alternate ending to season three.

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Jenny hurried into Nate's apartment suite at the Empire Hotel. This was it- rock bottom. Her own father wanted to kick her out of the house. She had worked so hard to fit in on the Upper East Side, she ended up loosing herself, and now she had nothing to show for it.

The only thing that kept her going was the hope that her earlier scheme had finally put an end to Serena and Nate's already stumbling relationship, and she imagined finding Nate in need of comfort, which she would be more than happy to give.

Unfortunately, she only spotted Chuck hastily filling a suitcase with a colorful array of clothes. His usually styled hair was messy, chaotically falling into his face, which held an expression Jenny was unable to read. Hurt? Anger? Confusion? Surely Chuck Bass was incapable of these mere mortal emotions. Quietly moving behind a column to avoid being seen, Jenny watched the man who she had always held a strange fascination for. Chuck Bass was a character surrounded by myth, and very few people, maybe only Blair, Jenny guessed, actually knew what he was really like. This gave her an odd sense of intrusion as she observed him with his guard down, but still she found herself unable to look away, and before she even realized it she had moved away from her hiding place, and was walking towards her subject of interest.

"Humphrey?" Chuck looked up, not exactly surprised to see the girl who seemed to have taken up residency in his suite, but caught off guard by the mere fact that he was so focused on packing in order to get the hell out of New York after a devastating rejection from Blair, he had momentarily forgotten that other people existed.

"Hey," she let out nervously. Rarely did she feel so intimidated, but Chuck just had that sort of presence, which was magnified by the dark shadows that fell upon his angular face.

"If your looking for Nate, he's not here," Chuck stated while continuing the task at hand.

"Oh. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"I don't have the slightest idea," he said keeping his voice devoid of any emotion. He hated the idea of anyone seeing him so torn up and heart broken. He had a reputation to maintain after all.

Jenny felt that she should probably leave, but then remembered that she had nowhere else to go. "Ok, I can just wait in his room."

"If you want to make yourself a drink while you wait, your welcome to." Chuck worked to regain his composure, before studying the girl. He could tell that she was in a bad place, and figured they both could use an adult beverage. It was only polite.

Normally this offer would have been politely shut down, but Jenny thought that today of all days she needed a drink. "Sure," she replied, before she made her way to the bar.

"Here, allow me," he stated getting up to get her a drink.

"Umm, I'll take a rum and coke," she said, deciding that it was best to just let Chuck help her, to which he let out an smirk, but Jenny could sense that there was more than just a hint of sadness behind his typically devious smile.

Chuck made her her drink, and poured a glass of scotch for himself, before they both leaned up against the bar to watch the sun begin to set on the New York skyline. They drank in silence, but for whatever reason it didn't feel awkward.

"Where are you going?" Jenny asked, breaking the noiselessness of the room.

"I'm not really sure yet," was Chuck's sullen response.

"It must be nice to be able to just pack up and leave." she said feeling more comfortable with her company.

Chuck nodded. "New York doesn't seem to be offering me anything anymore." Chuck thought of his failed relationship with Blair, and his lack of family ties, and for the first time it really dawned on him that he might never becoming back. Usually when he ran away it was to blow off steam, but he always knew in his heart that it was New York where he truly belong. There was always something calling him back, be it his fathers engagement, or a confession of love. Now he didn't know where he belonged.

"I know what you mean," Jenny said, reflecting on her own situation.

"Refill?" Chuck asked noticing Jenny's empty cup.

"Sure."

As the last of the sunlight disappeared from the city, Jenny realized that now might be a good time for her to disappear from the city as well. Blair was right, everyone hated her, and she had no business showing her face in Manhattan anymore.

"Take me with you." The words sprung out from her mouth with out much thought as she was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. It was a last minute plea, and although she knew Chuck probably wouldn't want his little stepsister, or whatever she was, tagging along on his travels, she still felt the chance of escape worth a shot.

"What?" he replied, truly taken back by her request.

"I need to leave."

"I'm not going to take you with me."

"Why? I'm not just that naive little girl anymore. I'll be able to handle whatever you do."

"I never said you where naïve, in fact I find you to be quite clever for a girl from Brooklyn."

"Then take me with you," Jenny begged.

Chuck took a good look at the girl. She had proven herself to be intelligent and cunning, maybe she would make a good partner in crime, but she always let her desperation ruin her, and she would never be able to keep up with his debauched ways. Still he wouldn't mind having company, and in the back of his mind he could think of no better company to get back at Blair for breaking his heart.

"I'm leaving in less than an hour. You don't have time to pack. We will just have to buy you stuff when we get there. I'm thinking Prague."

Jenny nodded. She had no idea what she was about to get herself into.

* * *

Tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The sunlight crashing onto Jenny's face was entirely unwelcome as she opened her eyes to greet the midday. Her skull pounded against her head, and her recollection of the night before was hazy. A dingy nightclub, a few mixed drinks, and a couple more shots was all she could really remember, and when she got up to use the bathroom, she was confused as to how and why she was covered in glitter.

When she walked into the bathroom her eyes were assaulted by the image of Chuck receiving head from two women. Chuck smiled deviously at her as she shielded her face and closed the door. She supposed she could just pee into a bush on the balcony of their hotel.

After drinking a glass of water accompanied by two aspirin, Jenny sprawled out on the couch. It had only been three days since she had left New York, and she was already burnt out. She supposed this was the price she had to pay for leaving the Country with Chuck Bass, who was hell bent on destruction. Her moment of peace was interrupted when Chuck and his two guests came stumbling out of the bathroom. The three where giggling about something, and decided to accompany Jenny on the couch.

"Ugg, Chuck, go somewhere else. I'm trying to recover," she whined.

"Sorry, Little J. Was last night too much for you to handle, because you seemed to be having a good time dancing on tables?" he asked with a devilish smirk as he leaned up against one of the girls, who Jenny noticed was wearing nothing but a thong.

Jenny rolled her eyes, and watched the other girl create lines of coke on the coffee table in front of them, before diving nose first into the powdery substance. "You like to join?" she asked in a heavy Eastern European accent.

"I'm good," Jenny responded. Deciding that now would be a good time to evacuate the living room, Jenny excused herself in order to take a shower.

After having washed away all of the evidence of the prior couple of days- the grime of the bars of Prague, the sweat of the dance floors she occupied, the stench of booze that permeated her skin and hair- Jenny felt much better. Stepping out of the shower, she carefully wrapped a towel around herself, and exited the bathroom to find an empty hotel suite. The absence of Chuck and company was seen as a relief to a worn out Jenny, and after slipping into one of Chuck's white undershirts, and a comfy pair of his boxers she reestablished her place on the couch to watch a little television. The only English channels she could find were the BBC and Euro MTV, neither of which appealed to her and she quickly found herself dozing off to sleep.

Chuck's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he struggled to keep them open. Hands, lips, and tongues roamed his body, which was rapidly spinning out of control, thrashing back and fourth with the beat of his heavily pounding hart. Violently he gasped for air, in a desperate attempt to regain stability, but it was too late as a blur of colors and sounds wrapped themselves around him, suffocating him, before rendering him completely numb. Then there was nothing, only darkness. The last image he saw was that of his long-dead mother.

When Jenny awoke after a four-hour nap she thought she smelled pancakes. The kind of pancakes her dad used to make when he was still with her mom, before he decided that he was strictly a waffle man. She remembered how her family would gather for them on lazy Sunday mornings. She would help Dan set the table, as her mom would regale them with tales of the crazy artists she met in art school. Alas there where no pancakes, only the cold toast, and eggs that someone ordered from room service, but never ate. Jenny decided she wasn't really all that hungry, and went to grab a cigarette instead.

Unfortunately, she discovered that she was all out. Desperate for nicotine, Jenny went into Chuck's room hoping to find something to squelch her craving. For all the debauchery that had taken place during their time in Prague, Chuck had kept his things shockingly organized. His shoes where lined up neatly in the closet under a row of clothes divided by color. Everything had a place, and everything was put in that place. Now if she could only find the place he kept his cigarettes she would be happy. Carefully she opened up the top shelf of the dresser. It was filled with cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy, but no cigarettes. The second draw was occupied by his dress shirts, and the third draw by his socks. When she hopelessly opened the last draw she found a beautifully decorated box. It was made out of silver, and encrusted in jewels. The box fascinated her, and gently she pulled it out of the draw in order to open it.

Inside the box where a few photos, mostly of Blair, or Chuck and Blair together in clearly happier times, but there was also one of Chuck, Serena, Eric, Lily, and Bart at Lily and Bart's wedding, and another of a stunning women she had never seen before. Jenny was mesmerized by the brunette beauty, before realizing it was Chuck's mother, noting that they had the exact same eyes, only hers where much more soft and seemed to radiate joy. Below the photos were two hand-written letters. Jenny knew that Chuck would probably murder her if he ever found out she read it, but he was off somewhere getting loaded, and she was curious. They where both love letters from Blair, one she written before he bailed on their planned trip to Europe two summers ago, talking about how excited she was for their first vacation as a couple. It was sweet- really- and something she never expected out of Blair. The other was written after their graduation, and was filled with sappy pet names, and the words I love you. The letters seemed so out of character for the both of them, they hardly seemed real. Jenny went to place the pictures and letters back in the box, but before she did, she noticed a small hatch on the inside. Pulling on it the box revealed a secret compartment, which kept hidden a gorgeous diamond ring.

The ring was unlike anything she had ever seen, clearly vintage, maybe an heirloom, and it held a rock the size of Manhattan. Jenny wondered if Chuck had meant to propose to Blair with it, but when she observed it closer she noted the initials EB- as in Evelyn Bass- engraved on the inside. Feeling unworthy of holding such a pricey piece of jewelry, Jenny carefully put it back in its place, before returning the box to it's original location.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door, which startled her, causing her to jump back a bit. She was paranoid that Chuck had some kind of crazy security on the box, and that this was her death warning. Another knock came, this time louder, and Jenny nervously made her way to the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors, making her wary towards opening it, but after a third knock she slowly turned the door knob slightly opening it to find an overly made up woman quickly walking away, and a terrible looking Chuck passed out on the hallway floor.

* * *

TBC


End file.
